Manicure cabinet assembly



May 26, 1964 A. M. THOMPSON MANICURE CABINET ASSEMBLY 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 29, 1962 INVENTOR: ARNOLD M. THOMPSON 5 Sheet t 2 INV R- BY @MMW May 26, 1964 A. M. THOMPSON MANICURE CABINET ASSEMBLY Filed June 29, 1962 ARNOLD M. THOMPSON M y 1964 A. M. THOMPSON 3,

MANICURE CABINET ASSEMBLY Filed June 29, 1962 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR: ARNOLD M. THOMPSON ATT'Y May 26, 1964 A. M. THOMPSON MANICURE CABINET ASSEMBLY Filed June 29, 1962 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 FIG. 8

INVENTOR: H OM PSO N ATT'Y May 26, 1964 A. M. THOMPSON 3,1 4,3

MANICURE CABINET ASSEMBLY Filed June 29, 1962 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 ARNOLD M. THOMPSON ATT'Y United States Patent 3,134,333 MANICURE CABINET ASSEDIBLY Arnold M. Thompson, Wheaten, 111., assignor to Thompson Designs, Inc., Franklin Park, 111., a corporation of Illinois Filed June 29, 1962, Ser. No. 206,422 3 Claims. (Cl. 132-79) The improved cabinet assembly comprising the present invention has been designed for use primarily as a manicuring appurtenance inasmuch as it serves to enclose and conceal a complete complement of manicure implements, as well as an electrically powered combined heat and illuminating lamp for use in quickly drying applied nail polish.

It is among the general objects of the present invention to provide a manicure cabinet assembly which is extremely compact and will retain the various objects associated therewith, as well as the lamp, in a novel nested condition wherein they consume very little space, thereby making it possible to construct the cabinet so that its overall size is small, considering the amount of implements and other equipment which it will accommodate.

Another general object of the invention is to provide a manicure cabinet assembly which is attractive in appearance and pleasing in design.

It is a specific object of the invention to provide in a manicure cabinet assembly of the aforementional character a novel combination of a particular cabinet proper and a lamp-supporting bracket, the cabinet comprising hinged base and lid sections and the bracket being pivotally mounted in the lid section of the cabinet and also movable when the sections are open back and forth between an extended position wherein the combined heat and illuminating lamp overlies a table surface on the base section of the cabinet and is disposed in an operative naildrying position and a retracted position wherein it is flatly nested within the lid section of the cabinet and permits the lid section to be closed.

Another specific object of the invention is to provide a manicure cabinet assembly of the last mentioned character and in which the lamp-supporting bracket embodies a combined lamp shield and shade having formed therein a vent hole which allows for escape and dissipation of heated air and also cooperates with a latch on the lid section of the cabinet in such a manner that, as the bracket is moved to it fully retracted position, the latch becomes effective to retain it in such retracted position, thereby preventing rattling of parts when the cabinet sections are closed and the assembly as a whole is transported.

A further object of the invention is to provide in a manicure cabinet assembly of the type and character under consideration a novel hinge connection by means of which the lamp-supporting bracket is pivoted within the lid section of the cabinet, such connection resulting in economy of manufacture and also resulting in the provision of concealed hinge pins in the finished assembly.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a manicure cabinet assembly of the aforementioned type and in which certain parts of the combined lamp shield and shade cooperate to establish a convenient cord conduit for the electric cord which supplies current to the heat and illuminating lamp.

Other objects and advantages of the invention, not at this time enumerated, will become readily apparent from a consideration of the following detailed description.

In the accompanying five sheets of drawings forming a part of this specification, one embodiment of the invention has been shown.

In these drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a manicure cabinet assembly constructed according to the principles of the 3,134,383 Patented May 26, 1964 present invention, such assembly being shown in a closed condition;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the base and lid sections of the cabinet open and the lamp and bracket assembly in its retracted or inoperative position;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 2 but showing the lamp and bracket assembly extended to its operative position;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view like in FIG. 3 but viewed from a difierent position or angle;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective View of one corner region of the cabinet, the sections of the cabinet being shown in their open position;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary exploded perspective View of the lamp and bracket assembly and the pivotal mounting means for such assembly;

FIG. 6a is an electrical diagram of the lamp circuit which is employed in connection with the improved mani cure cabinet assembly;

FIG. 7 is a perspective View of the end cap which forms a part of the lamp and bracket assembly;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged vertical section on the line 8-8 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 9 is a top plan view showing the base and lid sections of the cabinet in their open position and illustrating the cabinet as being devoid of manicuring implements;

FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken on the line 1010 of FIG. 9; and

FIG. I1 is a sectional View similar to FIG. 10 but showing the lamp and bracket assembly to its extended or operative position of use.

Referring now to the drawings in detail and in particular to FIGS. 1 to 3, inclusive, the manicure cabinet assembly which is illustrated therein constitutes a preferred embodiment of the invention and comprises three principal parts, namely, a base section 10, a lid section 12 and a lamp and bracket assembly 14, the latter being hingedly mounted within the lid section in a manner and for a purpose that will be made clear presently. The two sections 10 and 12 constitute a cabinet and are hingedly connected together for relative swinging movement to ward and away from each other between the closed position wherein they are shown in FIG. 1 and the open position wherein they are shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. The various cabinet parts are preferably formed by an injection molding process and of a suitable thermoplastic material, such as a resinous phenolic condensation product.

The two sections 10 and 12 are similar in their design, each being generally of shallow tray-like configuration. The base section 10 is provided with a bottom Wall 16, front and rear walls 18 and 20 and end walls 22 and 24. The lid section 12 is provided with a top wall 26, front and rear walls 28 and 39 and end walls 32 and 34. When the cabinet is in its closed condition, the rims of the two sections 10 and 12 abut each other substantially coextensively in edge-to-edge relationship. The walls 16 and 26 are slightly dished. The walls 20, 22 and 24 slope upwardly and outwardly from the bottom wall 16. The walls 30, 32 and 34 slope outwardly and downwardly from the top wall 26. The two front walls 18 and 28 extend vertically and thus are coplanar when the cabinet is in its closed condition. They are set inwardly a slight distance from the forward edges of the walls which they adjoin, thus giving an inset panel appearance to the front wall structure which is formed when the sections 10 an 12 are in their closed position.

At the left-hand side of the base section 10 and as viewed in FIGS. 2 and 3, there is provided a compartment 5G. The latter is provided with a removable lid 54 and may be utilized for retaining or storing therein the battery complement 55 of an electrically-powered manicore implement 56, the latter being designed for storage in an adjoining compartment 58. The two compartments 50 and 58 are full width compartments and are formed or established by way of two partitions 60 and 62 which extend between the front and rear walls 18 and 20 of the cabinet base section 10. The partition 62 and a longitudinally extending partition 64 establish two additional compartments, namely, a front compartment 66 and a rear compartment 68. Such compartments are of partial width and may be'employed for housing various manicuring devices or accessories, such as cotton-tipped swabs, emery boards, nailjfiles, cuticle scissors, nail-white pencils, ,orangewood sticks,-bottles of cuticle remover, nail V polish remover, liquid nail polish and the like. The front compartment 66- is adapted to be closed by a removable cover plate 70 which, in addition to serving as a closure for the front compartment, further serves as a finger-rest for steadying the fingers during manicuring operations,

such as the filing of nails and the application thereto of nail polish, cuticle oil and the like. The cover plate is preferably formed of a material which is resistant to attack by lacquers, polishes and solvents.

The electrically-powered manicure implement 56 constitutes no part of the present invention. Preferably it is of the type which is shown and described in United States Patent No. 2,861,578, granted on November 25, 1958, and entitled Utility Cabinet Assembly. In suchpatent, there is disclosed a manicure cabinet having a compartment for the implement and a secondcompartment for the power supply batteries by means of which the implement is energized. The second compartment is equipped ,with internal electrical contact connections -for the batteries and one wall of the compartment is provided with a sliding type of off-on switch which is disposed in series relationship with the batteries and the implement. The compartments 50 and 58 in the base section 10 of the cabinet of the present manicure cabinet assembly correspond in function to the two compartments of the cabinet of the aforementioned patent, an off-on switch 72 being mounted on the partition 60 medially thereof and being electrically connected to suitable battery terminals 74 at the ends of the compartment 50, the arrangement being such that the batteries 55, the implement 56 and the switch 72 are disposed in series relationship. As shown in FIG. 8, the compartment 50 is provided with a series of raised spacer webs 75 which maintainthe batteries 55 elevated from the bottom wall 16.

The lid section 12 of the cabinet, when closed upon the 1 base section 10, is, of course, of inverted dome-shape configuration but, when the cabinet is in use, this sec- 2 and 3 and wherein it is generally coplanar with the section 10 with the rims of both sectionsfacing upward- 1y. The hinges 40 are 360 hinges or, at least, they may swing in excess of 180 so that the hinge plates42 are coplanar when the sections 10 and 12 are closed upon each other and are contiguous when the sections are open.

The lid section 12 ,of the cabinet is not provided with any partition. At a region near the wall 32 and spaced equally from the walls28 and 30, a U-shaped clip 76' has its bight portion 79 cemented or otherwise secured to the inside face of the top wall 26. The clip may be formed and bracket assembly 14 includes a unitary lamp shade and bracket unit 100, a lamp socket base 102 of deep cup-shaped design and a lamp L. The unit 100 is generally of T-shape configuration and comprises a shade portion 104 and a bracket portion 106. The shade portion is of elongated trough-like designand has a generally tion is swung to the position wherein it is shown in FIGS.

. i, semi-cylindrical reflector dome 108, one end'of which is closed by an end wall 110. The other end of the dome 108 is open and has its rim cemented or otherwise secured coextensively to the rim of the cup-shaped socket base 102. A lamp socket assembly 114 is telescopically received within the base 102 and is secured therein bya screw 116 which extends into an internal screw thread 118 in a boss 120 on the bottom wall 122 of the base. cylindrical wall 124 of the base 102 is formed with a longitudinally extending trough portion 126 and the electric cord 82 passes upwardly through the hollow bracket 7 The proximal end of the hollow bracket portion 106 is' formed with a pair of trunnion pins 132 which seat within recesses 134 (see FIG.,6) in the upper edges of a pair of rectangular webs 135 which are formed on the top wall 26'of the lid section 12. Two complemental plates 136 fit against the webs 106 and have recesses 138 which mate with the recesses 134 to provide cylindrical trunnion sockets which receive the trunnion pins 132. The plates 136 are secured in position on the Webs 135 by a suitable adhesive. a

A small medial Web 140 is positioned midway between and in parallelrelation with the two webs 135 and embodies a notch-formed stop shoulder 142 The latter is adapted to be engaged by lower edge 144' of the hollow bracket portion 106 of the'unit 100 and coacts with said edge to limit the extended position of the unit and also releasably to hold the unit in such position. The lamp and bracket assembly 14 is movable between the retracted position wherein it is shown in FIG. 2 and the extended position wherein it is shown in FIG. 3, the extended position being limited by the engagement of the stop shoulder 142 by the edge 144 as previously described and the retracted position being limited by placement of the lamp and bracket assembly against the top Wall 26 of the lid section 12 of the cabinet. In the retracted position of the lamp and bracket assembly, the operating plunger of an oil-on switch 152 engages the top wall 26 of the lid section 12 and opens a pair of normally closed contacts 156 (see FIG. 6a). The switch which is of conventional' design is secured in a hole 154 in the hollow bracket portion 106 of the unit 100. The contacts 156 are associated with the switch 152 and are operatively disposed in the lamp circuit. When the lamp and bracket assembly 14 is swung away from the top wall 26 of the lid section 12, the normally closed contacts 156 again assume their closed condition with the result that current'issup plied to the lamp L, 'The cord 82enters the bracket portion 1060f the unit 100 through a hole 158 inone side of said bracket portion. The free end of the cord is provided with the usual male plug 160 by means of which the lamp L may be electrically connected to a wall outlet 162. V The lower region of the bracket portion 106 of i the unit 100 is recessed as at 164 (see FIG. 6) to afford a clearance for the medial web 140 when the lamp and bracket assembly 14 is moved toward its retracted position. p

The dome 108 of the shade portion 104 of the unit 100 .is provided with a series of elongated,.longitudinally ex tending slots 166. Such .slots serve as venting apertures for the escape .of accumulated heat from the interior of said shade portion. Three slots 166 have been illustrated in the drawings and they are in axial alignment'as best shown in FIGS. 4- and 6 The medial slot is designed for latching cooperation with a small latch finger 168 (see The generally FIGS. and 11) on the top wall 26 of the cabinet lid section 12 when the lamp and bracket assembly 14 is swung into its retracted position. The latch finger 168 is sufiiciently flexible to permit a latch hook 169 thereon to become displaced and move into latching engagement with one edge region of the medial slot 166.

As best seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, the cabinet is adapted to be maintained in its closed condition by cooperating latching devices on the base and lid sections 10 and 12. These latching devices include latch fingers 170 on the lower edges of the walls 32 and 34, and cooperating latch shoulder 172 on the upper edges of the walls 22 and 24.

Assuming the cabinet to be in its closed condition and with a full complement of manicure equipment stored therein, the cabinet may be set up for use by the simple expedient of forcibly and manually moving the lid sec tion 12 to its open position wherein the two sections extend in coplanar side-by-side relationship with the open rims thereof facing upwardly. Initial swinging movement of the lid section 12 will spring the latch devices 170, 172 and release the lid section. Thereafter, the lamp and bracket assembly 14 may be manually swung upwards into its extended position and, similarly, an initial movement of the assembly will spring the latch device 168, 166 to release the lamp and bracket assembly from its prone or retracted position on the top wall 26 of the lid section 12 of the cabinet. Assuming the cord 82 to have been electrically connected to the wall outlet 162, immediately upon movement of the lamp and bracket assembly 14 from its retracted position, the switch plunger 150 is released by the top wall 26 and the normally closed contacts 156 become closed to energize the lamp circuit. The circuit for the lamp is shown in FIG. 6a and it extends from one side of the power line at the plug 160, through lead 11, normally open contacts 156 of the switch 152, lead 13, lamp L and lead 15, back to the other side of the power line.

In the extended position of the lamp and bracket assembly 14, the open side of the shade portion 104 of the unit opposes the upper surface of the cover plate 70 and the heating and illuminating rays of the energized lamp L are directed against this cover plate, as illustrated diagrammatically in FIGS. 3 and 11. The lamp L is of conventional design and construction and is commercially available from numerous manufacturers. Despite its small size, the lamp delivers a high wattage, for example 40 watts, so that the lamp generates an appreciable amount of heat. Preferably, the glass shell of the lamp L is of heat-resistant material, preferably non-colored frosted glass, so that, in addition to the delivery of heat for naildrying purposes, an appreciable amount of illumination takes place to enable the user of the manicure cabinet assembly readily to see what operations she is performing. If desired, the lamp L may radiate rays which emanate from the infra-red portion of the spectrum.

With the lamp and bracket assembly 14 in its extended position, and the lamp L energized, the area in the vicinity of the cover plate 70 is illuminated and the plate serves as a finger rest as shown in FIG. 3 for conducting whatever nail-treatment operations may be desired, utilizing the various complement of implements in the various cabinet compartments, including use of the motorized manicure implement 56. The implement 56 may be energized for operation by removing the same from the compartment 14 and moving the switch 72 to its on position.

After the desired treatment has been eifected upon the nails of the user, the various implements may be restored to their proper positions within the various compartments and the lamp and bracket assembly 14 manually swung to its retracted or prone position over the top wall 26 of the lid section 12, whereupon the circuit for the lamp L will become deenergized by reason of engagement of the switch plunger 150 with said top wall and consequent opening of the normally closed pair of contacts 156. At approximately the time that the lamp circuit becomes deenergized, the latch hook 168 will enter the medial slot 166 in the shade portion 104 of the unit and cause the assembly 14 to be releasably latched in its retracted position. The cord 82 may then be replaced within the confines of the clip 72 and the lid section 12 of the cabinet closed upon the base section 10, the latch fingers 170 serving to maintain these parts in their closed condition.

The invention is not to be limited to the exact arrangement of parts shown in the accompanying drawing or described in this specification as various changes in the details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Therefore, only insofar as the invention has particularly been pointed out in the accompanying claims is the same to be limited.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. As a new article of manufacture, a manicure cabinet assembly comprising a sectional cabinet including a base section and a lid section hingedly connected to the base section and movable relatively thereto between open and closed positions, one of said sections having a substantially flat wall which extends horizontally when the cover section is in its open position and the base section is supported for use, the other section having a substantially flat finger rest which extends horizontally when said cover section is open and said base section is supported for use, a lamp and bracket assembly including a lamp-carrying shade portion and a bracket portion, the bracket portion having a proximate end pivotally connected to said wall and a distal end on which the shade portion is carried, the lamp and bracket assembly being thus capable of swinging movement about a horizontal axis between a retracted position wherein the shade portion is in close proximity to the flat wall and within the confines of the enclosure and an extended position wherein the shade portion is projected upwardly and lies outside said confines and overlies said finger rest, the pivotal connection between the proximate end of the bracket portion and said flat wall comprising a pair of spaced webs connected to and extending upwards from said flat wall and having semi-cylindrical recesses in the upper edges thereof, complemental plates secured to the webs and having formed therein semi-cylindrical recesses which mate with the semi-cylindrical recesses in the webs to define cylindrical sockets, and trunnion pins on the proximate end of said bracket portion and projecting into said sockets, a heat lamp carried by said shade portion, and an electric circuit for said heat lamp and including a pair of normally closed contacts mounted on the bracket portion of the lamp and bracket assembly, said contacts being operable when the lamp and bracket assembly is moved to its fully retracted position to engage said substantially flat wall and become open.

2. As a new article of manufacture, a manicure cabinet assembly comprising a box-like cabinet defining an enclosure and having a substantially fiat wall adapted to extend horizontally when the cabinet is in a position of use, a lamp and bracket assembly including a lamp-carrying shade portion and a bracket portion, the bracket portion having a proximate end pivotally connected to said wall and a distal end on which the shade portion is carried, the lamp and bracket assembly being thus capable of swinging movement about a horizontal axis between a retracted position wherein the shade portion is in close proximity to the fiat wall and within the confines of the enclosure and an extended position wherein the shade portion is projected upwardly and lies outside of said confines, the pivotal connection between the proximate end of the bracket portion and said flat wall comprising a pair of spaced webs connected to and extending upwards from said fiat wall and having semi-cylindrical recesses in the upper edges thereof, complemental plates secured to the webs and having formed therein semi-cylindrical recesses which mate with the semi-cylindrical recesses in the webs 'to define cylindrical sockets, and trunnion pins on the proximate end of said bracket 7 portion and projecting into said sockets.

3. A manicure cabinet assembly according to claim 2 and including, additionally, a medial upstanding web connected to the flat wall midway between said spaced Webs, and an abutment on the proximate end of the bracket portion and engageable with said medial web for limiting the extended position of the lamp and bracket assembly,

c ReferencesCited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Pemberton et al. Sept. 6, 1932 Winslette Oct. 17, 1933 Dean Apr. 21, 1953 Hernrnings et a1 Jan. 29, 1957 Squindo July 29, 1958 

1. AS A NEW ARTICLE OF MANUFACTURE, A MANICURE CABINET ASSEMBLY COMPRISING A SECTIONAL CABINET INCLUDING A BASE SECTION AND A LID SECTION HINGEDLY CONNECTED TO THE BASE SECTION AND MOVABLE RELATIVELY THERETO BETWEEN OPEN AND CLOSED POSITIONS, ONE OF SAID SECTIONS HAVING A SUBSTANTIALLY FLAT WALL WHICH EXTENDS HORIZONTALLY WHEN THE COVER SECTION IS IN ITS OPEN POSITION AND THE BASE SECTION IS SUPPORTED FOR USE, THE OTHER SECTION HAVING A SUBSTANTIALLY FLAT FINGER REST WHICH EXTENDS HORIZONTALLY WHEN SAID COVER SECTION IS OPEN AND SAID BASE SECTION IS SUPPORTED FOR USE, A LAMP AND BRACKET ASSEMBLY INCLUDING A LAMP-CARRYING SHADE PORTION AND A BRACKET PORTION, THE BRACKET PORTION HAVING A PROXIMATE END PIVOTALLY CONNECTED TO SAID WALL AND A DISTAL END ON WHICH THE SHADE PORTION IS CARRIED, THE LAMP AND BRACKET ASSEMBLY BEING THUS CAPABLE OF SWINGING MOVEMENT ABOUT A HORIZONTAL AXIS BETWEEN A RETRACTED POSITION WHEREIN THE SHADE PORTION IS IN CLOSE PROXIMITY TO THE FLAT WALL AND WITHIN THE CONFINES OF THE ENCLOSURE AND AN EXTENDED POSITION WHEREIN THE SHADE PORTION IS PROJECTED UPWARDLY AND LIES OUTSIDE SAID CONFINES AND OVERLIES SAID FINGER REST, THE PIVOTAL CONNECTION BETWEEN THE PROXIMATE END OF THE BRACKET PORTION AND SAID FLAT WALL COMPRISING A PAIR OF SPACED WEBS CONNECTED TO AND EXTENDING UPWARDS FROM SAID FLAT WALL AND HAVING SEMI-CYLINDRICAL RECESSES IN THE UPPER EDGES THEREOF, COMPLEMENTAL PLATES SECURED TO THE WEBS AND HAVING FORMED THEREIN SEMI-CYLINDRICAL RECESSES WHICH MATE WITH THE SEMI-CYLINDRICAL RECESSES IN THE WEBS TO DEFINE CYLINDRICAL SOCKETS, AND TRUNION PINS ON THE PROXIMATE END OF SAID BRACKET PORTION AND PROJECTING INTO SAID SOCKETS, A HEAT LAMP CARRIED BY SAID SHADE PORTION, AND AN ELECTRIC CIRCUIT FOR SAID HEAT LAMP AND INCLUDING A PAIR OF NORMALLY CLOSED CONTACTS MOUNTED ON THE BRACKET PORTION OF THE LAMP AND BRACKET ASSEMBLY, SAID CONTACTS BEING OPERABLE WHEN THE LAMP AND BRACKET ASSEMBLY IS MOVED TO ITS FULLY RETRACTED POSITION TO ENGAGE SAID SUBSTANTIALLY FLAT WALL AND BECOME OPEN. 